National media views Ted Cruz win as key battle in a GOP ‘civil war’

After Ted Cruz’s victory over David Dewhurst in the Texas Senate runoff, national media coverage focused less on the winner and more on the national consequences of the win.

Many major news outlets gave short shrift to Cruz’s political views or son-of-an-immigrant life story, instead focusing on the strength of Tea Party ideals in Texas and beyond.

The Daily Beast called Cruz “the messenger, the vehicle, the symbol” of the ideological change in Texas politics. Associated Press called Cruz a “Tea Party darling.”

Conservative Fox News speculated as to whether Cruz’s victory is a signal of a Republican “civil war” in Texas politics. Fox News took Cruz’s victory as a “sign that the Tea Party is alive and kicking.”

On liberal MSNBC, Rachel Maddow Show guest Lou Dubose, editor of the Washington Spectator and a former Texas Observer editor, noted that Dewhurst might have lost the election due to his record of “co-operating with Democrats” during his time in office, which allowed Cruz to mark Dewhurst as a moderate.